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Ron Artest
Ronald William Artest, Jr. (born November 13, 1979) is an American basketball player, currently a member of the Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association. Born and raised in the Queensbridge Projects in Long Island City, New York, he is perhaps the most controversial American basketball player in the game today, mainly because of his involvement in the 2004 Pacers-Pistons brawl. Early career Artest played college basketball at St. John's University, and was selected by the Chicago Bulls with the 16th pick of the 1999 NBA Draft. In 2002, Artest was traded by the Bulls to the Pacers, along with Ron Mercer, Brad Miller, and Kevin Ollie, in exchange for Jalen Rose, Travis Best, Norman Richardson, and a second-round draft pick. He is noted as being one of the best defensive players in basketball today, and was voted the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year for the 2003-04 season. In spite of his abilities, he has been the subject of much controversy. During his rookie season with the Chicago Bulls, he was the subject of criticism for applying for a job at Circuit City, just to get an employee discount. He once attended an Indiana Pacers practice in a bath robe. He was suspended for two games in the early 2004-05 season by Pacers coach Rick Carlisle after he allegedly asked for a month off because he was tired from promoting an R&B album for the group Allure on his production label. Artest had also been suspended for three games in 2003 for destroying a television camera in Madison Square Garden, and for four games for a confrontation with Miami Heat coach Pat Riley in 2003. Seemingly embracing his controversial bad-boy status, he changed his uniform number at the start of the 2004-05 season. In past seasons with Indiana, he had worn the number 23 in tribute to Michael Jordan. He has also been suspended several times for excessive flagrant fouls. For the 2004-05 season he wore the number 91; a tribute to Dennis Rodman, another controversial basketball player from the 80s and 90s. After being suspended for the remainder of the season due to his involvement in the "malice at the Palace", Artest changed his number back to the original number he wore for the most part of his basketball life, number 15 (although he switched to number 93 after being traded to the Sacramento Kings). The Pacers-Pistons brawl On November 19, 2004, Artest took center stage in arguably the most infamous game in NBA history. The game took place in Auburn Hills, Michigan between Artest's Pacers and the home team Detroit Pistons. It began when Artest gave a hard foul to Pistons center Ben Wallace as Wallace was putting up a shot. Wallace responded by shoving Artest, leading to an altercation near the scorer's table. Artest continued to mock Wallace and lay down on the scorer's table. Wallace then threw a towel at Artest after Artest taunted him and pretended to give a radio interview at the scorer's table. Reacting to Wallace throwing something at Artest, John Green of West Bloomfield threw a cup of beer at Artest, hitting him. Artest jumped into the front-row seats and confronted a man he believed to be responsible (who turned out to be the wrong man), which in turn erupted into a brawl between Pistons fans and several of the Pacers. Artest returned to the basketball court, and punched Pistons fan A.J. Shackleford, who was apparently taunting Artest verbally. This fight resulted in the game being stopped with less than a minute remaining. Artest and two teammates were suspended indefinitely the day after the game, along with Wallace. On November 21, the NBA announced that Artest would be suspended for the remainder of the season (73 games plus playoff appearances). This is the longest non-drug or betting related suspension in NBA history. Eight other players, four Pacers and four Pistons, received suspensions, without pay, that ranged from one to thirty games in length. Further consequences, both in the NBA and with the law, are expected for both players and fans. Artest lost approximately $5 million in salary due to the suspension. Aftermath and trade Early in the 2005-06 season, Artest requested a trade from the Indiana Pacers and was put on the team's inactive roster. Artest's call for a trade created a rift between him and his teammates. "We felt betrayed, a little disrespected," teammate Jermaine O'Neal said. As for their basketball relationship, O'Neal said: "The business relationship is over. That's fact." Pacers president Larry Bird said he also felt ?betrayed? and ?disappointed?. On January 24, 2006, reports from NBA sources confirmed that the Sacramento Kings had agreed to trade Peja Stojakovic to the Pacers for Artest. However, before the trade could be completed, many press outlets reported that Artest had informed team management that he did not want to go to Sacramento. According to Ron Artest's agent, his original trade request was only made because he was upset when he heard rumors that the Pacers were going to trade him to Sacramento for Stojakovic early in the season. While not denying his agent's story, Artest did deny that he had rejected the trade to Sacramento, saying that he would play anywhere; hence, contradicting earlier press accounts stating Artest was holding up the trade. Given conflicting accounts, it is unclear why the trade was delayed, but it was nevertheless completed on January 25 and Artest was officially sent to the Kings for Stojakovic. Sacramento Kings Though traded midseason to the struggling Kings franchise, Artest quickly found his place on the team by providing some much needed defense. Though many feared his abrasive personality would be a problem, he has worked well with his teammates and coach Rick Adelman so far. Since acquiring Artest in late January 2006, the team immediately went on a 14-5 run, the team's best run of the season. The Kings broke .500 and landed the eighth spot in the West. This prompted ESPN to declare that "Ron Artest has breathed new life in the Sacramento Kings and enhanced their chances of reaching the playoffs." Fox Sports proclaimed, "Artest has Kings back in playoff hunt". He was suspended for Game 2 of the team's first-round series against the San Antonio Spurs following a flagrant foul (elbow to the head) on Manu Ginobili. The Kings eventually were eliminated from the playoffs in six games. Afterwards, Artest offered to donate his entire salary to keep bruise brother Bonzi Wells with the team, who is a free agent. Artest also offered to donate his salary to keep coach Rick Adelman, whose contract expires after the 2006 season. Endorsements Ron Artest is the only NBA player endorsed by the German brand k1x. http://www.urbanmecca.com/artman/publish/article_521.shtml Quotes *In regards to medication for his behavior Artest said, "I've never taken medication (to control moods) in my life. Doctors have suggested it and I say, 'OK, give it to me.' But I throw it in the garbage immediately." *On the All-Star game; "They better not put me in the All-Star Game. I won't shoot, but I'll dominate that easy game. I'll be playing hard defense. I'll be foulin'. I'll be flagrant fouling. Everyone will be like, 'What are you doing?'" Trivia * Ron Artest's father is a bouncer at Pastis, a restaurant/bar in Manhattan. http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/story/14251458p-15067846c.html * Ron Artest has 2 younger brothers, Isaiah and Daniel. http://idsnews.com/news/story.php?id=27666 * Ron Artest is number 4 out of 9 children. External links *Ron Artest @ NBA.com *Ron Artest stats @ basketballreference.com References # Artest, Jackson charge Palace stands - November 21, 2004 # 'Betrayed' Bird says Artest must go - December 27, 2005 # Initial agreement for trade falls apart - January 24, 2006 # Report: Artest Trade To Sacramento Resurrected - January 25, 2006 # NBA Preview - Lakers At Kings - March 14, 2006 # Artest has Kings back in playoff hunt - March 14, 2006 Artest, Ron Artest, Ron Artest, Ron Artest, Ron Artest, Ron Artest, Ron Artest, Ron Artest, Ron Artest, Ron Artest, Ron Artest, Ron de:Ron Artest fr:Ron Artest